


Charming Nights

by juiceboxxortiz



Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: F/M, Magic Mike - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-23 05:15:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13780500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juiceboxxortiz/pseuds/juiceboxxortiz
Summary: Charming Nights is loosely based off Magic Mike,  the below characters playing the respective stripper parts.Juice Ortiz - AdamJax Teller - Magic MikeTig Trager - DallasOpie Winston - Big Dick RichieClay Morrow - TarzanHerman Kozik - KenHalf-Sack Epps - TitoChibs Telford - Tobias





	1. Chapter 1

Juan Carlos sat on a bench, his bag at his feet. The main street of town was busy, but all he could focus on were his thoughts.  
Being a dropout isn’t the worst thing that could happen, one part of Juan thought.  
He was smart, he had the know-how, but a lack of esteem and the OCD made it hard for him to stick with it.   
So he’d packed up, headed out of New York and flew down to sunny California, catching the first bus from the airport and landing in Charming. He didn’t have much more of plan that finding a job with a good routine. He had a little money saved, but he’d have to find something soon.  
Juan was impulsive when things got difficult, quick to take himself out of a situation rather than try to resolve it. He didn’t know anyone in Charming, he hadn’t found anywhere to stay. So now the panicking had begun.  
_Really thought this through, didn’t you?_ He rubbed his hand over his tired eyes.  
The sound of a staple gun firing in to a post next to him caused Juan’s head to snap up.  
The guy doing the stapling looked over to him, gave him a nod, and walked away towards the next post.  
Juan stood, looking at the flier. It was for a mechanic garage, seeking workers. Juan had worked on cars and motorcycles most of his life, so he hoped it counted for something.  
“Hey!” Juan jogged after the flier guy.  
The man turned and looked at the young Puerto Rican coming towards him.  
“You looking for workers?”  
“You looking for work?” The guy had a smirk on his face, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly.  
“Yeah.”  
“Do you have any experience?”  
“I can fix most anything on a car or bike. I’d be happy doing all the shitty jobs, I just need one.”  
Juan sized him up. He was a little taller than Juan, floppy blond hair and blue eyes. He was around the same age, with a cheeky side about him.  
“Alright. Show up tomorrow at 7.”  
“Um… show up where, exactly?” Juan asked.  
Blondy chuckled. He gave him the address. Extending a hand, Juan shook it.  
“I’m Jax.”  
“Juan Carlos.”  
“Not from around here, are you?” Jax asked, continuing on to the next pole to post more fliers.  
“What gave it away? The bag? The accent?”  
“Pretty much.”  
Juan told him a bit about himself as Jax stapled.  
“You got a place to stay?” Jax asked, putting up the last flier.  
“I was just going to stay in a motel until I got settled.”  
“Nah, man. Come crash with me. At least until you find a place.”  
Juan couldn’t believe his luck. He hoped everyone in Charming was as accommodating and nice.  
“Are you sure? You don’t even know me.”  
“Are you gonna kill me in my sleep?”  
Juan shook his head.  
“I think we’ll be fine, then. Come on.”  
Jax grabbed Juan’s bag and put it in the back of his pick up. They jumped in the car and Jax drove them to his place.  
  
*******  
  
Jax’s place turned out to be a clubhouse at the garage. The garage was run by a guy named Clay, who was once part of a bike club. The club had long disintegrated, but Clay had kept the clubhouse as his own home.  
Jax had come along and Clay gave him a room and a job, and he’d been there ever since.  
“Clay! Found us a new employee.” Jax shouted across the yard.  
A tall man, in his late fifties, poked his head out from the garage office. He wandered over, a smug grin on his face, looking Juice up and down.  
“Day job, or night job?”  
“Day. He’s got experience with cars.”  
“That’s a shame. Although,” Clay reached down to the hem of Juan’s shirt, peeling it up and looking at his sculpted form.  
Juan jumped back, pulling his shirt down and throwing a questioning look at Jax, who laughed.  
“He’d fit right in.” Clay finished, running his hand through his white hair.  
“This is Juan Carlos.”  
“JC, people just call me JC.” Juan added.  
“Well JC, I’m Clay, or Tarzan, depending on where I’m working. Daddy, if we’re close.” Clay grinned.  
“Good to meet you, um, Clay.”  
“Can JC stay here?” Jax asked.  
“Sure thing. Set him up in a room, grab him some sheets and towels.” Clay turned to Juan.  
“Get settled, then tomorrow morning, come see me in the office and we’ll get you sorted.” He turned and walked away with a last wink at the boys, heading back to the garage.  
“He’s.. colourful.” Juan said, not really sure what had just happened.  
“As bright as a rainbow. Come on, let’s get you set up.” Jax responded, steering Juan by the shoulder in the direction of the clubhouse.  
“What did he mean by ‘night job’?” Juan asked.  
“We both work at a night club as well as here. You should come along sometime, check the place out.”  
“Sounds great.”  
Jax showed Juan to his room, leaving him to get the linens. There was a double bed, a couple of sets of draws, a small ensuite and a TV. Juan could be comfortable here.  
“So pretty much we just chip in for everything, get Clay to take it out of your pay or you can just give it to him yourself. Come and go as you please, we’ll get you a set of keys sorted. As long as you do your work and pay your way, you can stay as long as you like.“  
“Thanks man, I really appreciate it.”  
“My pleasure. Come out around 6 if you want, we’ll have some drinks and order dinner.”  
Juan nodded and Jax left the room. He sat on the bed, taking a deep breath.  
_Not the worst impulse move I’ve made,_ he thought, a small smile on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Juan enjoyed his first week working at Teller-Morrow. He’d surprised Clay with his knowledge of motors, and was given plenty of work to keep him busy.  
Most nights he would stay home, working on his laptop, listening to music. He could sit for hours, coding, always improving his system. He missed gaming, and thought that he might get himself a new console when he’d made a bit more cash.  
Jax and Clay invited him to join them for dinner and drinks, and he enjoyed their company. He was even getting used to Clay’s wild comments, laughing along with Jax.  
It was near 9pm that Saturday, and Juan was settled in for an evening watching TV in his room when Jax appeared at the door.  
“Hey, we’ve gotta go to work tonight at the club, you should come along. We can grab drinks after our shift.”  
Juan thought for a moment. _Probably more fun than watching TV._    
“Sure.”  
“Sweet. Get changed and meet us out the front in ten.”  
Juan changed in to a black t-shirt, some jeans and sneakers, grabbing his phone and wallet before heading to the yard.  
The three of them jumped in Jax’s truck and headed out.  
  
There was a massive line outside of the club. Clay and Jax walked ahead of Juan, right past the line and up to the bouncer. As they passed, the ladies called out to them. The two men smiled, and Juan wondered how great at bartending they must be to get that reaction.  
“Hey Jimmy, he’s with us.” Clay said, jerking his head towards Juan.  
The bouncer nodded and smiled slightly. Juan nodded back and followed the guys inside.  
The club was dark and busy with people drinking and dancing.  
Clay walked past the bar, waving at the bartenders as he went by.  
Jax patted a bar stool for Juan to sit at.  
“Hey, darlin’.” Jax leant across the bar and pecked one of the servers on the cheek.  
“Dallas is looking for you, Golden Boy.” Mila said, shaking her head but grinning all the while.  
“JC, this is Mila, she’ll look after you tonight while we’re on shift.”  
Juan was confused as to why a different bartender would be looking after him, but wasn’t all that bothered when he looked to the young lady behind the bar.  
Mila was petite, slender, with big, beautiful eyes. She pulled her long hair over her shoulder, quickly waving.  
“Nice to meet you, JC.” Mila smiled at Juan before looking to Jax with suspicion in her eyes.  
“I’ll see you when I’m done, introduce you to some of the guys.” Jax said to Juan before he wandered off in to the crowd.  
“Can I get you something to drink?” Mila asked.  
“Beer, thanks.” Juan replied.  
“Coming right up.” Mila grabbed a beer from the fridge and pulled the cap off, handing it to Juan.  
“It’s on the house. You’re a friend of Jax, you drink free your first night. Wave me down when you’re out.” Mila smiled, pushing Juan’s money back to him.  
Juan smiled back, and Mila went to serve another customer.  
Juan looked about the club, swallowing his first mouthful of beer. He noticed that there were hardly any men. It didn’t bother Juan so much as make him even more confused.  
He tried to remember if he’d seen a sign saying it was Ladies Night, but couldn’t remember. He would ask Jax when he got back, and entertained himself by watching the muted football game that was on one of the TV screens behind the bar.  
  
 *******  
  
The TV turned off and the lights dimmed down to near darkness and a few women whooped and cheered. A boisterous Scottish accent filled the room.  
“Evenin’ ladiiiiiiiiies!”  
The crowd stirred.  
“Are ye ready?!”  
More cheers resounded, and Juan was becoming more concerned, wishing Jax would return and tell him exactly what he’d gotten him in to.  
“Then let’s give it up for the Dallas Crew!”  
The women went wild, screeching and screaming as lights hit the stage.   
A line of men came marching out in military garb, strutting across the stage to the intro beat of Kiss’ “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”.  
What Juan could only assume were dollar bills were already littering the stage.  
As they got in formation, the men began thrusting their hips.   
Juan wanted to, but couldn’t look away. He was stuck to his barstool, watching the men gyrating while the ladies sang along, ogling them, throwing money and panties at the dancers.  
 _Tonight I wanna give it all to you_  
 _In the darkness_  
 _There’s so much I wanna do_  
As the first verse rang out, the dancers began peeling off their shirts, some pulling the sleeves off, others completely ripping open the front of it, buttons flying through the air.  
 _What the hell has Jax brought me along to,_ Juan thought to himself. Second thing was that he hoped the club had insurance in case one of those buttons hit a patron in the eye.   
 _And tonight I wanna lay it at your feet_  
 _‘Cause girl, I was made for you_  
 _And girl, you were made for me_  
The music continued and the guys kept dancing, teasing the women by lowering their waistbands.  
Juan was (thankfully) distracted when Mila placed a rather large shot of vodka in front of him.  
“It’ll help with the shock.” she spoke over the music, an amused look on her face.  
Juan nodded and drank it down, looking back to the stage just as the chorus kicked in.  
As it did, the strippers ripped their pants clear off, casting them aside. They all turned, exposing bare behinds and the screaming only got louder.  
 _I was made for lovin’ you baby_  
 _You were made for lovin’ me_  
They pointed at various women in the crowd, grinning and thrusting, causing the women to empty the contents of their wallets into the band of the camouflage print thongs.  
 _And I can’t get enough of you baby_  
 _Can you get enough of me_  
The chorus faded out and a beat played, the MC’s voice coming back over the speakers.  
“Give it up for the boys!” The crowd erupted and the strip crew bowed.  
“Time to refill ye drinks, lasses, you’re about to get thirsty! Yeah, you know what’s coming, and I’m not talking about you fine beauties. The panty-dropper himself, raise your dollar bills for Golden Boy Jax!!”  
Juan thought the girls cheers couldn’t possibly get louder, but the noise was deafening as Jax emerged from behind the backdrop curtain to the sound of Ginuwine’s “Pony”.  
He jumped out, landing and ripping his tank top open in one motion. As Jax’s feet hit the floor, he grabbed the singlet and rubbed it against his rolling stomach, before pulling it around his arms, exposing his toned and defined chest.   
Pulling it clear off, he flung it in to the crowd. He grinned that boyish grin, running his fingers across the brim of his cap.   
There was a fluidity to Jax’s movements. He wasn’t just thrusting and grinding, there was rhythm and he hit every beat perfectly.  
Juan still couldn’t quite wrap his head around the fact that his new friends were strippers, but he had to admit, Jax was a talented dancer.  
The patrons thought so too, he was pulling in more money than the other guys put together. Juan worried he might slip on all the bills that had flooded the stage.  
Moving down the stairs to a lower stage, Jax wowed the ladies even more. Someone had tossed him a chair, and he grinded against it’s seat, exaggerating his movements. Spinning it around, he sat down, leaning back, running his hands over his body.  
Women reached up, hoping to make contact with Jax’s oiled chest and stomach. Jax walked over to one of the young ladies, kneeling in front of her.  
He grabbed her by the wrists and brought her hands up to his shoulders, sliding them all the way down to his crotch. Pulling at the waistband of his pants, Jax dipped her hands inside as she squealed in delight.  
Juan couldn’t help but laugh.  
As Jax finished up his dance, Mila bought Juan another drink.  
“What did you think?” she asked, setting it down in front of him.  
“That was not what I was expecting to come here to see.”  
“They didn’t tell you, then?”  
“Not a thing.”  
Mila smiled and left him to drink.


	3. Chapter 3

Just as the dancers had finished performing their routines, one more man appeared on stage to everyone’s delight.  
He was dressed all in black, from his cowboy hat, fringed jacket, assless chaps, thong and cowboy boots. Even his hair was black, curls spilling out from under the hat.  
He turned, and Juan saw not only his sixth bare ass for the night, but the rhinestones that adorned the back of his jacket reading “Dallas”.  
 _So that’s Dallas.  
_ ”Howdy, ladies. I hope y’all had a good time tonight.” Dallas had a low, Southern drawl.  
”Why don’t you give it up one last time for the Dallas Crew!”  
The women whooped and applauded, the guys coming back out to the stage.  
“You’ve been entertained tonight by Chibs, our MC, and the boys here. Tito, Ken, Tarzan, Big Dick Opie and Golden Boy Jax!  
One last wave of panties sailed from the crowd to the stage and the boys waved, heading back off stage.  
“See y’all next week!” Dallas waved, the crowd cheering once more and heading backstage.  
  
“Hey, JC!” Jax called out, shuffling through the crowd towards Juan.  
“Hey, man, that was nuts!” Juan replied.  
“Yeah, sorry for not giving you a heads up. Thought you might freak out if you knew the truth, didn’t wanna scare you off.”  
“I was shocked, I’ll admit, but you guys were great!”  
Juan turned in his seat to see all the strippers surrounding him.  
“JC, this is everyone.”  
They all introduced themselves to Juan. He already knew Clay, but there was the MC, a middle aged Scot. The pretty boy blondie was Kozik, stage name Ken;  the huge, muscly guy was Big Dick Opie, and then there was Kip, stage name Tito.  
Juan shook all their hands and Mila brought them all a round of drinks over.  
They stood around, drinking, getting to know Juan.  
“So why do they call you ‘Tito’?” Juan asked Kip.   
“It means ‘of the giants’.” Kip replied. He was a small, sandy haired kid, barely 21 by the look of him.  
Juan still had a confused look on his face.  
“He’s only got one nut, makes his dick look gigantic.” Kozik said.  
“Wanna see?” Kip asked.  
“I really don’t.” Juan replied, laughing with all the guys.  
“They were going to call _me_ Tito, but Dallas thought I needed something more obvious, so I got Big Dick Opie.” Opie said.  
“Now, now, don’t Hulk out, Ope.” Dallas had walked over, changed out of his cowboy outfit and losing the accent with it.  
“Name’s Tig.”  
“JC.” Juan responded.  
“This the guy you were telling me about?” Tig asked Jax.  
Jax nodded.  
“Well, he certainly looks the part. Very New York. But what’s with the stupid hair?”  
Juan’s hair was cut into a short mohawk, revealing a tribal tattoo on either side.  
“So you can see my stupid tattoos.” Juan responded. He’d often copped flack for his hair, he’d learnt not to get offended.  
Tig grinned, nodding.  
“He’s fiesty. But can he dance?”  
“What?” Juan exclaimed.  
“We’re looking for a new dance member. Clay told us you’ve got the body for it, but can you move?”  
“Uhhh,” Juan felt put on the spot.  
“Dude, all you gotta do is thrust your junk at ladies and take your clothes off.” Jax explained, before Tig cut in.  
“Hey, my routines aren’t just air-humping, ya know.”  
Jax rolled his eyes, pulling something out of the back of his pocket.  
A big roll of cash sat in his hand. The other guys pulled out sizeable rolls as well, showing Juan.  
“Well shit.” Juan said, impressed by the serious cash. The bills weren’t ones.  
“And that’s all from a couple hours work.” Jax said, the cheeky glint in his eye.  
Juan thought for a moment, tempted. He shook his head.  
“No way. I’m not a dancer.”  
That was a lie. Juan grew up loving hiphop, old school and new. Back in Queens, he and his friends would dance to everything. From breakdancing to Grandmaster Flash, to more modern hiphop dance.  
He didn’t do it for money, he did it because he loved it. It was a part of him, the culture where he was born and raised. Juan did it for himself and no one else.  
“Well he definitely likes music, I hear it playing at night when I walk past his door.” Jax said.  
“I like music, doesn’t mean I dance!” Juan laughed, shaking his head.  
“We’ll see.” Tig said, before ordering another round.  
They dropped the subject, talking on other things and drinking their way through the night.  
  
 *******  
  
“Come on, Juan!”  
It was 2am and the guys had started up again. They were all drunk and Juan was feeling a little loose.  
“No! Wait-” Juan began to protest, but Mila, who had joined the group after her shift, had pulled him off his barstool.  
“They’re not gunna stop until you do it, might as well get it over with.” she said.  
The music was blasting an old, slow RnB hit. Mila started to move around Juan, swaying her hips, beckoning him to join her.  
He smiled, grabbing her hand and pulled her in close. Placing his hands on her hips, Juan moved them to match his.  
Keeping complete eye contact, Juan draped Mila’s arms over his shoulders.  
The lights were pulsing and her face dropped in and out of shadow. Juan could still make out the surprise on her face. There was also a hint of enjoyment there.  
Juan dipped Mila, running a gentle finger from the based of her neck down to her stomach.  
Mila flinched under his touch, her eyes wide when he brought her back up.  
Juan gave her a half-smile, letting her go and sitting back down on his stool.  
“My turn, my turn!” Clay did a little dance on the spot.  
“So, you’re in?” Jax asked.  
Juan looked around at all their faces. They were all grinning, even Mila gave him a thumbs up.  
 _I could use the extra money, maybe I could even go back to…_ Juan stopped himself from finishing the thought.  
“Yeah, okay, I’m in.”  
“Alright, Juicey!” Chibs slurred.  
“Juicey?” Opie asked, laughing at the drunk Scot.  
“Juicey, JC, same bloody thing.”  
“Well he’s gunna need a stage name. ‘Juice’, because he gets the juices going!” Jax cried and the boys cheered.  
“To Juice!” Tig raised his glass and everyone followed. “We start tomorrow.”


	4. Chapter 4

Juan, or Juice as he was now known among his friends, woke up slowly that Sunday.  
His mouth was dry and his head was foggy. He knew he hadn’t drunk himself in to oblivion, but he’d definitely had an enjoyable night.  
Memories of the boys toasting him, welcoming him to the Dallas Crew flooded back. Dancing with Mila. Promising to meet Tig with Jax so they could get his gear ready for his routine.  
 _Shit._  
Juice rolled over, grabbing his phone off the bedside table. 12:47pm.  
 _Shit, shit, shit._  
Jumping out of bed, he sat back down for a second, shaking the woozy feeling before standing again.  
Juice pounded on the wall separating his and Jax’s rooms. Jax was meant to be coming along with him and Tig that afternoon, and his grumbling indicated he too had slept long in to the day.  
“Up, man, we gotta meet Tig in 10 minutes!” Juice called out.  
He didn’t want to risk smelling like he’d crawled out from the gutter, so jumped in the shower, soaping up and rinsing quickly.  
Throwing on a shirt and jeans, he stumbled out of his room, knocking on Jax’s door.  
“Coming! Start the truck. My keys are on the bar… Probably.” Jax called back.  
Juice searched the bar area, eventually finding the keys on a barstool. He’d worry about how they got there later, racing out to the truck and starting it up as Jax emerged from the clubhouse.  
He shielded his eyes from the sun and managed to make it to the truck.  
“You drive, I think I’m still about three shots and seven beers over the limit.”  
“You definitely know how to party.” Juice smiled, pulling out of the yard.  
“It’s the stripper life, man. You get your clothes off and then drink to forget your parent’s disappointment.” Jax replied, chuckling.  
  
Jax directed them to the street and Juice parked. Tig was waiting, a sly grin on his face.  
“Only 5 minutes late, Jax. That’s a new record.”  
“Fuck off. Let’s get food before we turn Juice into a stripping beaver or something.”  
Juice was concerned, but confident that Tig wouldn’t actually dress him up in a beaver outfit.  
They ate at a cafe, greasy food for everyone to soak up whatever was left in their stomachs. Heading in to the supplies store, costumes, or lack thereof, hung off the wall on mannequins.  
Juice walked around wide-eyed, past firemen outfits, military, there was even a sexy chef.  
“Alright, so I’m looking at this for you.” Tig pointed to a wall of clothes.  
“Oh.” Juice was somewhat underwhelmed by his choices.  
It was streetwear, made for dancers. A lot like the clothes he used to wear back home.  
“It was clear to me that you were going to be our urban dancer, when you were dancing with Mila.”  
“It’s just, I thought Jax danced in this kind of gear, you know. To ‘Pony’.”  
Juice looked at Jax, who shrugged, a disinterested look on his face.  
“Jax is going to be doing Pony back in his cowboy outfit, like we discussed.” Tig shot Jax a disapproving look. He turned back to the racks and started going through the sweatpants.  
Jax moved over to Juice.  
“He gets pissy when I don’t play by the rules.” he whispered.  
Juice nodded.  
“If things go how I think they will - and they will,” Tig said, pointedly. “Then I want you and Jax to do a number together. Take these, try them on.”  
Juice caught the clothes, moving towards the change room. He undressed, put the sweatpants and walked out.  
Jax and Tig were on sitting on a couch outside, and looking up, Jax immediately scrunched up his nose and shook his head. Tig threw more clothes at him.  
Back and forth Juice went, trying on new pants, shoes, shirts, whatever Tig gave him.  
The guys would critique the outfits and finally Tig and Jax were happy with three costumes.  
Tig paid, telling Juice that he was able to claim it back in his taxes as it was business related.  
“Now, we go and test them out.”  
  
 *******  
  
Back at the club, it was empty except for the people setting up for the evening.  
Tig jumped up on stage and motioned for Juice to join him.  
“Run out back, put all this on, and come back out.”  
Juice did as he was told, pulling on his new pants, shoes and a plain white fitted shirt.  
“And this to finish the look.” Tig said, handing a black cap with a “J” embroidered on the front.  
Juice slid it over his mohawk.  
“You’re going to be dancing to ‘It Wasn’t Me’ by Shaggy.”  
“Really? I don’t-” But he was cut off by the smirk and shake of Jax’s head and the song playing overhead.  
Tig began going through the steps without listening to Juice, watching him to make sure he was getting it.  
Juice knew the dancing was meant to be sexy, but what Tig had in mind was even more over the top than the song itself. It was not the style he was used to but he did well, surprising Tig.  
“WOOOOO!! Take it off!!” Jax cheered for Juice in a high pitched voice from the seats by the stage.  
“I wanna debut you at the end of the show in two weeks. You need to be here every second night after the garage job. We’re gonna practice till it’s perfect. You can learn the group dance with Clay and Jax at home.”  
Tig turned to Jax.  
“I expect him to have the routine down. If he works out well in his solo, we’re adding him to the mix the week after.”  
Jax saluted.  
  
They practiced and practiced, Tig not caring how tired Juice was after working all day. They’d dance from the time Juice got to the club until the evening, and then Juice would be taught the group dance on his nights off.  
On the nights Mila was there for set up, she would bring Juice water. They’d chat afterwards if they had the time, mainly discussing the dancing.  
The Saturday finally came, and Juice was ready. He’d learnt all the moves and hadn’t been able to get the song out of his head for a week.  
The other dancers went out and did their thing, and Juice could hear the roaring of the crowd from backstage.  
“You ready?” Tig asked him.  
Juice nodded, slipping his hat on.  
“Make me proud.” Tig replied, walking out on stage in his get-up.  
Jax came out back in his assless chaps and hat.  
“Nice, mini-Tig.” Juice laughed.  
“Shut up. You nervous?”  
“Not really, I mean I’ve danced in front of people before. Just not got my ass out for them.”  
“You’ll get used to it. I’ve seen you move, you’ll be great.”  
“Damn straight, he will!” Clay came up and smacked Juice on the ass, running off.  
“Better get up there before he calls you out. Good luck, brother!” Jax said and Juice made his way up the stairs to the side of the stage.  
“Be kind, he’s not from around these parts, but he’s gonna show y’all how they make ‘em in the Big Apple.” Dallas was there in all his Southern glory.  
Juice adjusted the brim of his hat.  
“Please adjust your panties and make him feel welcome! Juice!”  
The crowd cheered and Juice made his way out, head down, moving to the intro of the song. When he’d hit his centre mark, the first verse began.  
 _Alright_  
 _Honey came in and she caught me red-handed_  
 _Creeping with the girl next door_  
 _Picture this we were both butt-naked_  
 _Banging on the bathroom floor_  
Juice moved across the floor with ease, mimicking the steps that Tig had taught him. He thrusted, slide across the floor on his knees, gyrating at the women who began to throw money on him.  
He tore his shirt open, grinning and throwing it in to the outstretched hands of some shrieking patron.  
 _But she caught me on the counter/It wasn’t me  
Saw me banging on the sofa/It wasn’t me  
I even had her in the shower/It wasn’t me  
She even caught me on camera/It wasn’t me_  
Juice felt ridiculous, but it felt good to be dancing again after so long, and the bills covering the stage made air-grinding all the more easier.  
He simulated banging against the the different surfaces in the song.  
 _Picture this we were both butt-naked_  
As the words blasted through the sound system, Juice turned, tearing at his velcro-sided pants. He was left in nothing but his hat, shoes and a purple thong, his rear end on display for the whole club to see. The chorus played through again.  
 _Heard the screams getting louder_  
 _It wasn’t me_  
 _She stayed until it was over_  
The screams really did get louder and the money rained down as the women saw him in most of his glory.  
The song began fading out and Tig came back out on stage.  
“We’re really glad y’all stayed until it was over! Now, what do we think of our boy, Juice? Wanna see him back next week?”  
Juice couldn’t help but laugh as the ladies went wild, tossing more cash on stage and holding their drinks up.  
“That’s what we wanna hear! Give it up for all our boys!”  
The rest of the crew came out on stage, slapping Juice on the shoulders and taking their final bows.  
Heading backstage, Juice went to take a shower. He came out after, dressed back in his normal clothes.  
“Well, you did it, kid!” Tig said, shaking his hand and passing his a roll of cash. There was a little more there than he made in a week as a mechanic.  
“Welcome to the club.”


	5. Chapter 5

Juice was a well-known name around the club. His first dance had cemented him a spot in the Dallas Crew, and the following weeks saw him dancing before Jax came out.  
He worked hard, both at the garage and the club, and was already starting to earn some serious cash.  
Juice had just finished up a practice session with Tig and Jax when Mila came in the back room.  
She slammed her bag in to her locker, closing the door with a crash and punched in, sighing heavily before turning and spotting Juice. He was crouched over, midway through tying this shoe lace and watching her.  
“I don’t wanna ask how you are, I don’t wanna get punched.”  
Mila couldn’t help but smile a little, shaking her head.  
“Sorry, I didn’t see you.”  
“Anything I can help with?” Juice finished tying his shoe and stood up.  
“I wish. My laptop keeps crashing and I have so many assignments to get done.”  
Mila rubbed a hand across her forehead, Juice could see how wound up she was. There were dark circles under her eyes, her shoulders tensed. She was looking a little slimmer than usual.  
“I could help you, if you wanted. I know my way around computers.”  
Mila snapped her head up, eyes wide, looking like God had sent her a miracle.  
“Are you kidding? That would be so great!”  
“I’m not working tomorrow. If you’re not busy, I could come by and sort it out?”  
Mila threw her arms around his neck and Juice flinched, not expecting it.  
“Sorry, I’m just exhausted and stressed out from all this computer crap. So, tomorrow?”  
“Message me your address and I’ll head over in the morning.”  
Mila nodded and headed out with a spring in her step.  
  
 *******  
  
Packing up his things, Juice borrowed the garage truck and headed out to Mila’s house.  
It was a small apartment, tidy but old.  
Juice knocked on the door and she heard scrambling before the door came open.  
“Hey! Come in.” Mila said, standing aside to let him in.  
When Juice looked at her, he saw the circles under her eyes were darker than before. She was frazzled, and looked like she’d not been to bed.  
There were papers and books all over the place; the coffee table, couch, floor. He could see a blank spot in front of the table where she had been sitting.  
“So sorry about all the mess. Since my laptop has been crashing I’ve been hand writing everything and getting all my info from books because I can’t look it up online. Takes so much longer, and… sorry, I’m rambling.”  
Juice smiled. “All good.”  
Mila showed Juice through to the kitchen where her laptop sat on the table.  
“This is it. It’s pretty old but has done me well until now. I’ve done everything, wiping it, installing all new software, nothing seems to work.”  
A hitch broke Mila’s voice, but she looked down, clearing her throat a little.  
“How about I take a look at it, see what needs doing and we’ll go from there.”  
“Thanks, Juice, I really appreciate it.” Mila said, leaving him to work and get back to her studies.  
Juice began, trying all the tricks he knew, running programs, going through coding. He could tell by looking at it, that it had been around a long while. She may have even had it secondhand, judging by the age.  
Working for some time, he came to the conclusion that she would need a brand new laptop.  
Telling her so, Mila nodded defeatedly.  
“I thought so, but I had hoped that by some miracle it could be saved.”  
Juice felt terrible, he wanted so badly to help her. He knew what it was like, studying and working a crappy job, trying to make ends meet.  He would happily lend her the money for a new one, but knew she would decline if he offered. There was one more thing he wanted to attempt before giving up.  
“Hey, there is one other thing I could try, but I need to go grab something from the store. Come get lunch with me? You look like you could use a break.”  
Mila considered it, tapping her hand on the table.  
“Sure. I’ll grab my bag.”  
  
The food court was busy so Juice offered to get the food while Mila found a table.  
“It’s on me.” he said when Mila tried to hand him money, walking off before she could follow him.  
He found her again, sliding in to the seat across from her.  
“So we’ve got burgers, fries, drinks. You’re not vegetarian, are you? Probably should have checked before.”  
“Nope, I’m a carnivore.”  
They began eating, and Juice asked all sorts of questions.  
“I’m studying accounting. Hoping to work for a firm someday, earn better cash than what I do now.”  
“Did you know Dallas before you started working at the bar?”  
“No, I answered a help wanted ad.” Mila replied, taking a sip of her drink.  
“He seems to have the ‘my way or the highway’ approach.” Juice mused.  
“Yeah, I’ve seen so many people go head to head with him. Always gets his way, though. He’s pretty good to me, I’ve always done the right thing by him and I’m just there to serve drinks. He lets me have the shifts I need so I can go to class or study.”  
They finished up eating and walked to the electronics store. Juice made his way to the parts section while Mila browsed around the laptops.  
Juice pretended to be looking at different parts and putting them down. He watched Mila, running her hands over the keyboards, sighing as she looked at the price tags.  
Juice bit his lip, trying to figure out how to go about his plan.  
“Mila, you wanna hang out tonight? Watch a movie?”  
Mila looked up, confused.  
“Um… Sure, sounds fun.”  
“Cool. Do you wanna go grab snacks? I’m still gonna be a few minutes here. I’ll meet you at the grocery store and we’ll head back.”  
Mila was still confused, but nodded. She left the store and Juice waved down an assistant.  
Juice spoke with the worker briefly before making his purchase.  
  
“You were quick.” Mila commented as she came out of the grocers.  
“I knew what I was looking for, just needed to find the right one.” Juice picked a bag up from the floor, handing it to Mila.  
She looked in the bag, her mouth forming a firm line, her eyes darting between the bag’s contents and Juice.  
“I knew you wouldn’t say yes if I offered to get you one, so I did it myself. I couldn’t save your laptop, and you need one.”  
“I can’t pay you back. At least not right away.” Mila said, after a long silence.  
“You don’t need to. Let’s just go hang out.” Juice smiled, trying to lighten the mood.  
He could see Mila was struggling, whether to keep it or give it back.  
“Thank you.” she smiled back, still not feeling easy, but accepting the gesture.  
“You’re welcome. So, what did you get?”  
Mila shook her head, opening the bags to show Juice the popcorn, chocolate, candy and drinks.  
“Now all we gotta do is pick the movie and get pizza. Can’t watch movies without pizza.” Juice said.  
  
 *******  
  
The movie began. They’d ordered pizza and we’re eating snacks while they waited.   
Juice could see Mila looking over at him out of the corner of her eye. She had been doing it often throughout the afternoon, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the nerve.   
Juice started watching her back, seeing her eyes dart away when she saw him looking. He grinned, slowly looking at her more and more obviously.   
Mila caught on and blushed, forcing herself to look at the screen.   
“Something you wanna say?” Juice asked, breaking the tension.   
Pulling at a loose thread on her top, she finally looked him in the eye.   
“Why did you buy me a laptop?”   
“I told you, I know how hard it is, and you needed one.”   
“No you didn’t. You said you weren’t able to save my old one and that I needed one.”   
“Oh.” Juice’s turn to look down.   
“Well, I mean, I do know how hard it is. I was in college but I dropped out. And I figured since I had the money and I could help out, I would.”   
Mila looked back at the screen, not processing the movie playing, but her own thoughts.   
“How come you dropped out?”   
“Just wasn’t able to manage it all.”   
“That’s very vague.”   
Juice chuckled. “It’s just what it is. I didn’t have anyone to help me and I can see that you’re working your butt off, wanted to make sure you could keep going.”   
“It was just a very nice gesture. From someone I don’t know all that well.”   
The doorbell rang and Juice went to pay for the pizza. He came back, taking his seat.   
“What do you wanna know?”   
“What were you studying?”   
“Computers. Hardware, programming, coding, all that kind of stuff.”   
“Were you good?” Mila asked, in between bites of pizza.   
“I knew my stuff.”   
“So why’d you quit?”   
Juice stopped for a minute. It wasn’t something he like to chat about very much, but he liked Mila, and something about telling her made it feel more like opening up and less like a admission of failure.   
“I didn’t have the greatest self esteem. I understood everything and I knew how to do it all, but I have OCD and it kinda makes things hard. I was trying to work jobs to pay my way through and things got more and more unorganised and hectic so instead of trying to fix it I just left.”   
“I can’t imagine what it must be like, but that’s tough, man.”   
“I guess it just wasn’t meant to work out that way. I still do computer stuff, so it’s not a complete loss.”   
Even Juice couldn’t convince himself that was true. He loved it. He missed it. But he was where he was and he told himself that someday it might work out.   
He watched as Mila contemplated his words while she chewed. She thought long and hard before he saw she had come to a conclusion.   
“I think you should go back to school and finish.”   
It wasn’t a question, it wasn’t a suggestion. She wasn’t waiting for a response. Mila just said what she felt, turning back in her seat to face the movie and kept on watching.   
Juice raised his eyebrows, turning back to face the TV himself.   
While he had fantasised about it, he never thought about it legitimately. That fire had been snuffed out the minute he left his dorm room.   
Feeling the flicker of hope that maybe it might happen, he squashed it down, not wanting to get his hopes up. But he couldn’t extinguish it entirely.   
“You want a drink?” Mila asked, breaking his thought pattern.   
“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”   
He allowed himself one more thought at the idea, before ignoring it and directing his focus back to the movie.


End file.
